It's hard to imagine, but in some metrics the baby faced Scott McLaughlin could be considered a veteran in the Supercars Championship.
The 26-year-old has been a fixture in the series since 2012, where he debuted at Tekno Autosports as co-driver to team owner Jonathon Webb. After an impressive late call-up cameo at the series finale replacing an injured Alex Premat, it was inevitable that he'd join the series as a full-timer in 2013. In the years since, he's hoisted Volvo to the top of the podium a bunch of times, established himself as one of the best car qualifiers in Australian touring car history, and — of course — become a championship and Bathurst 1000 winner.
But, McLaughlin's path to title and Bathurst glory begins years ago. Along with his Dunlop Super2 title win and competitive stints in karting, it was that first victory at Pukekohe Raceway — as a 19-year-old — that put him on the map. And, that very car has now come up for sale.
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Since its service in 2013, it's lived a rather sheltered life. It was run in the Super2 development series sporadically with the likes of current Garry Rogers Motorsport driver James Golding at the helm. It was then sold to emerging team Dragon Motor Racing (who also bought its sister car from 2013, formerly driven by Premat) before being sidelined for 2019. Former Dragon team owner Tony Klein sadly passed away earlier this year.
Both cars are now up for sale, and are currently being restored to their 2013 spec — complete with Fujitsu liveries.
"In the early days of Dragon Motor Racing, Tony identified the need to run with the best cars we could obtain and so he purchased these two VFs from Garry Rogers Motorsport,” said Amanda Klein, Tony's wife. “Like many others in the industry we benefited from the guidance and assistance afforded to us by GRM who welcomed us to the sport and provided mentoring to our new Dunlop Series team.
"The purchaser of these cars is not only buying a fast, competitive V8 with a proven track record, they are buying a piece of Australian V8 Supercar history.”
Prior to winning at Pukekohe in 2013 (then crashing at the final corner the following day), McLaughlin's old Commodore started its life in VE Commodore bodywork as a 'Car of the Future' test vehicle for the plucky team. Ironically, it actually won a race prior to its Pukekohe triumph at that year's Australian Grand Prix meeting. But because those races don't award points, it's the New Zealand win that goes down in the record books.
McLaughlin went on to win another race at Queensland Raceway later in the season, where he held off eventual champion Jamie Whincup and James Courtney. Three podiums across the season cemented the Kiwi as one of the few drivers to grab a top 10 championship finish in their debut season. Little did we know the onslaught of incredible success that would come in subsequent years.
Given that the VF Commodore is still a competitive platform in the Dunlop Super2 series, it's not outside the realm of possibility for this car to add more race miles to its colourful history. But, it's also a car that's prime for the speculative McLaughlin fan collector. Price is on application. Those keen to check it out can click here for more information.